i really am out of options been out of work for a year anything i should specially watch for when i get there?
Always put safety first. I had a friend go to USA Truck and did very well, until he flipped his truck on a back road by running off the road with the right steer tire just a bit, next thing he knew his truck was rolling. Me personally... I had a close call that woke my butt up instantly... Going through Huston on I10 wb to I35 S for Laredo. It had been raining all night, I started out that morning at 4 am central time in Baytown, did my pretrip and off I went towards Huston. I think it was right before the I45 exits from I10, it gets a bit snakey and slightly hilly. The sun was just coming up, pavement soaking wet, just a few cars around me but not immediately around me. I can't remember if the speed limit is 55 or 60 through there, but I was doing about 47 mph... Next thing I knew was my truck wheels lost traction and I was fish tailing. Just in a split second, there I was out of control, the fish tailing progressed wider and wider, I of course instinctively started getting on the brakes... This was WRONG and I thought to myself... "Get off the ****ing brakes you idiot and get on the clutch brake" and within 200 feet or so, all wheels regained traction. I was highly lucky in that situation, been through there plenty of times, but for some reason, that morning, the slightly curvy wet hill was about to be the last one I ever took. My friend who lives in Houston said they just resurfaced that section not long ago. Well, whatever the cause, I am thankful I knew what to do in that situation, even though C1 is nothing but a cdlmill. Learn all you can, from any sources you have, this line of work is not just being a steering wheel holder. As for the company itself, biggest problems I've had was going through 6 driving managers in 6-7 months, a truck that was ready to fall apart... And the TRR group. Just did the best I could with what I was given and it all worked out in the end. Just don't loose your temper out there... That's a recipe for disaster. Goodluck on your trucking career if that's what you have decided to do. Be safe out there!
I was in the same boat...no kids, single, etc. With minimal bills, this is the perfect time for you to start. I would stay out for two to three months at a time and since they never had to worry about getting me home I always got decent miles. Granted, I left Pam almost two years ago,but you should be able to clear 400 weekly. Get your year in, and get out.
PAM is horrendous. There are some very cool people who work for the company, but they aren't in dispatch and they sure aren't in payroll judging from the paychecks I received while with them. Stay away... FAR away!!! They've got a revolving door of drivers for a reason, mainly that BS 17.5 cents per mile they want to pay you starting out, with teaming MANDATORY. I couldn't quit fast enough.
Yet people still sign on that dotted line, just as you did, to work for that 17.5 cents a mile. Did you at least quit after your year was up?
Blue Knight? Lone Star? Why am I the last to know about these things!?! I guess I need to leave the PAM forums more often :S
